Year in review 2009

HERE'S OUR ROUND UP OF THE BEST, WORST AND MOST SHRUG WORTHY OF 2009

It was a strange year... deep in the depths of a recession that's having a so-called 'jobless' recovery [read: not recovering] and the end of a transformative (good and bad) decade worldwide. Lest we stray and get all serious, without further ado, our 2009 List:

BEST of

The coolest, cleverest and most exciting things in beauty last year...

ELLIS FAAS - This range has innovative (and clever) packaging, it's stylish and subtle and the colours are beautiful, moody and the Ellis Red is one I hope to see around (and use) for years.

THE PREEN POWER DRESS - Looks good on everyone, even Amy Winehouse and the two baps she's smuggling on her chest.

MAISON FRANCIS KURKDJIAN BUBBLES - Yet another innovative and playful product. Using bubbles to create a home fragrace. Whimsical and beautiful. What a great addition to the beautyscape.

LIBERTY BEAUTY HALL - I mean... it just gets better and better every year. Bravo. By far the coolest bricks and mortar place for beauty with some pretty cutting-edge brands.

LIVING PROOF no frizz - It's like teflon for the hair, so it keeps it frizz free but doesn't weigh it down like traditional anti-frizz serums do. Even good on thin, fine hair. Science being used for good, I say.

NICHE SKINCARE - 2009 was a beautiful year for niche brands and the free flow of foreign brands to new lands... evolve beauty, Absolution unisex skincare, Nature Girl, Nia, MV Skincare et al. It's a fine time for consumers on the prowl for something new and, possibly, quite good for you.

MIDDLE EASTERN SCENTS - Never ever before have I liked heady, syrup-y, smoky scents, but it was love at first sniff for me all because of Amouage Epic. We re-entered a bygone era perfume and, god damn it, I like it.

RENAISSANCE OF COCO - CHANEL and its namesake were everywhere this year, and we will happily be sporting our CHANEL badges and our Rouge Coco lipstick (launching February) straight through 2010 as well. We loved the movies, have the book on hold at the library and are over the moon about a strong, unique, truly accomplished woman being at the forefront of media attention again.

HOME FRAGRANCE - Frederic Malle, Hermes, Prada... everyone is getting in on the home fragrance game, with funky products like rubber incense, scented paper and diffusers. Haute fragrance for the home.

THE RECESSION - No, I know, the contracting of an economy does not feel good, but hopefully you did buy less useless shit this year, and that includes beauty products you never intend to actually use.

PACKAGING - Rob Ryan for Snowberry, evolve, Elis Faas, Le Metier de Beaute, Andrea Garland, Model Mirrors... The list goes on. Many are clever and beautiful, making our daily routines that much more streamline and pretty (and maybe a touch more environmentally responsible too).

Click to read more ...

From the source: Marilyn Monroe's fitness and beauty secrets

 

How on god's green earth did we miss this absolute gem of a resource when my co-founders and I launched the Cult Beauty website in 2008? Would you believe we did an entire piece on the woman and never once did we have such a robust source as this original article about her beauty routine, fitness habits (yep, she exercised) etc. The imagery leaves me speechless. Grounded yet stunning photos of a classic beauty looking magnificent without all of the on-set accoutrement needed nowadays to get the already beautiful looking unattainably so. She looks the part of the perfect starlet yet a wonderfully natural (okay, bar a few procedures) specimen of what near female perfection looks like in the flesh. Of course, beauty is in the proverbial eye of the beholder and the likes of Liz Hurley have admitted to preferring certain death over a figure like Monroe. For those of us who think otherwise, I think you'll appreciate this article, borrowed from Glamournet and found via the Vintage Beauty Blog.

View slideshow here (click on the images once in the gallery to view the full size and read the copy).

Smell this now: Bois d'Alexa candle by Alexa Rodulfo

When I first found the Bois d'Alexa candle waiting in my postbox (way back in early 2009), I was moving house and thus not lighting any candles in the vicinity of my growing newspaper mountain (the best paper with which to wrap kitchenwares). My flat resembled a large tinder box and open flame was the last ingredient I wanted to be responsible for supplying. However, I was curious... I peeked under the weighty pewter lid of the candle sent over by the famed Alexa Rodulfo herself so I could at the very least get a feel for the scent. It weighed heavy in my hand since the candle, made in historic perfume center Grasse, comes encased in opaque black French glass. It feels as luxurious as it smells; this product has a presence. Simply put, it's sensory decadence that won't leave you feeling woozy as is so often the case with pungent products, superbly rich puds and other slightly nefarious implements of decadence. You won't dry heave at the thought of using Bois d'Alexa after overdoing it the night before because, frankly, there's no overdoing it with this candle. 

For those of you who aren't familiar with Alexa, she is the go-to makeup and hair stylist for the social set of this world, making up the likes of fashonistocrat Margherita Missoni and media royalty Wendi Murdoch. 

Description

Bois d'Alexa is a unisex-scented candle that comes in a black French glass container with a lead-free Pewter lid encased in a velvet pouch. The wax is black, the wick is made from 100 per cent cotton and the candle is made in Grasse, France.

The fragrance include notes of orange, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon blossom, cedar, vetiver, guaiac wood, white musk, oak moss, leather and hints of vanilla.

The Good

The musky, wooden scent. It is absolutely pervasive. When it's sitting sans pewter lid on my coffee table, the entire living room is redolent of soft cedar, slightly green and gently musky. It's a candle a man would't be embarassed to have sitting out in his flat (let alone next to his bed). It's not too metro and it doesn't reek of a Little Tree care freshener. It is, in my estimation, one of the best scented candles on the market.

Plus, each candle is handcrafted and comes in a velvet pouch... all made in Grasse. This stuff is good,

The Bad

As with so many things, the price is a bit steep. $68 for a candle is hard to justify for some, but it does burn for 50 hours.

Buy Bois d'Alexa at Aedes de Venustas and Colette.

Update on 10.3.2009 by Jessica Teas (née Gearhart)

I was just pinged with an email about the fact that Alexa is releasing three more candle scents, soon (hopefully) to be followed by other products.

The three scents are: BOIS BLANC, BOIS SAUVAGE, BOIS D’AMOUR.”

Alexa says: “I wanted to create something beautiful. Once you become captivated by a scent, it will remind you of and take you to places that you have been before: you may not quite know where, but you know it’s a place of calm and pleasure.”

About the scents

BOIS BLANC: The base notes are Violet Leaf with Bergamot and Grapefruit; additional spicy accents are added with Nutmeg, Cloves and dry notes of Cedar wood, though the overall affect is anchored with woody facets of Vetiver and Sandalwood. The finishing touch is a note of White Musk.

BOIS SAUVAGE: The perfect blend of acidic citrus fruit and the base perfume of woods, BOIS SAUVAGE is like a walk through the wilderness. Lemon and oranges mingle with rum vapors, moss facets and the warm aroma of crisp trees. Still familiar with its musk powder and hints of old leather, this is an entirely new, unique creation.

BOIS D’AMOUR: Familiar, inspiring and full of love – this scent is built around a mix of red thyme and nutmeg, with a strong overtone of the calming, invigorating green mint. The green tea marries a patchouli bouquet, with the slightest taste of cannabis accord. The endnote is the harvested familiar banquet of gaiac wood, cedar wood and oak. 
   
The three candles are available exclusively from Colette from tonight and then globally from November 2009.